Tangled - Flower Boy
by Janet-Mufasa
Summary: Eugene couldn't be happier with his son, with whom he planned to share everything. However after a rat bite, his son has fallen terribly ill and he isn't expected to survive. Lamenting on this, Eugene suddenly remembers that at times like this, one usually needs a miracle... Or in his case, a long shot chance that a certain magical flower still lives within himself... Oneshot.


In the early stages of parenthood, Eugene couldn't have been happier. There in his arms lay a little mini-Eugene with all the giddiness and innocence that one would expect from your first child.

As a matter of fact, despite his shady dealings of the past, he was quite proud to say he was great with kids, and enjoyed thrilling them with tales he'd read or made up himself.

Every kid in Corona, it could be said, was relatively fond of him, even is he paled in comparison to his ever popular wife of course.

And so it's no wonder that he and his son were so close, that he'd spend hours and hours playing mind numbing peekaboo games and making stupid faces at each other in the royal nursery.

However, after a year had passed, he'd begin to notice things in his son that didn't sit well with him, such as his violent fits crying which happened for no reason that any doctor could explain. Before long it became worse, and it was concluded that his son had in fact fallen terribly ill.

In the night at some point, many nights back now, there had been a few rats in the castle and it was confirmed that his son had been bitten by one. The disease was a fairly new one, and hadn't a cure yet.

He was beside himself. How could it have happened to him? Was this his past catching up with him?

He would have rather been hung if he knew his precious baby would be taken from him this way. He spent all his days with him, until finally he was forced to be parted from the boy to avoid getting infected himself.

His wife tried to console him, but it did little to help, and he sat by the windows staring at nothing, and blaming himself. All he could think of is how horrible of a father he was to have let something as stupid and small like a rat manage to ruin his whole life this way.

But old habits die hard, and he had reason to brag about his stealth and planning. He was just about ready to give up hope, when he noticed a painting in the corner of his room, which his wife had put there years prior in her attempt to brighten up the castle.

It was a beautiful golden flower, with swirls of gold and orange and white radiating from the center of its petals, and curving and twisting up to the sun, and a vague outline of a young woman, singing to it.

It was then that he recalled a story he had told many times over before...

"At times like this people usually start looking for a miracle, or in this case, a magical golden flower..." He repeated to himself.

"Flower... YES!" He cried silently. It was a long shot, and he didn't even know if the spell would even work without the use of magical hair...

But he had been brought back to life from the DEAD without it, so it was still worth a try. He snuck into the room, and closed the door behind him, his heart dropping and his throat clenching at the sound of his sons weak crying.

He tiptoed over to the little bed in which the precious baby was kept, and then with the gentlest of care he lifted the boy up, just like he always did, and held him against his chest, leaning his head next to his.

He took a deep breath, and then with a good hold around the baby, he began to sing...

At this time, Rapunzel had noticed Eugene had stayed out later than usual. He normally would these days slink away to bed early on in the day, but it was far past midnight now and he wasn't anywhere to be found.

She was beginning to furiously worry. He'd been pretty lifeless ever since the news about their son had arrived, and hadn't responded well to any type of counselling or consolation. She was hopeful enough not to assume the worst though, since she knew he wasn't a coward like that.

Or...perhaps it could be said its because he WAS a coward but anyway...

She sighed and rounded the corner and decided she'd at least check in the nursery. There weren't many other places he could be, but she doubted he'd willingly force himself to suffer more by facing himself with the hard, cold truth.

But as she approached the door, she paused and stilled her breath, a faint murmur coming from within. She leaned in closer, and strained her ears. She could just make out a muffled melody, slow and melancholy at first but then livening with a mix of desperation and hope.

She felt cold, and furrowed her brows for it was somehow painfully familiar.

"...Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine..."

She gasped and stood back, tears stinging in her eyes, as she recalled the way she had sung over him after he'd passed, those many years ago. She could hardly bear the breaking her heart was suffering in that moment as she concluded that he was attempting to revive their dying child.

He had been desperate, yes, always trying to think up new ideas and at first he'd been so lively, and furious, never tiring as he attempted to find the answer. Now he was just broken.

She pushed open the door after he finished the first verse, quietly as she did, but she nearly lost her composure when she caught sight of it.

How she hadn't detected its faint but still powerful glow from under the door was beyond her. There stood Eugene, with his back to her, swaying back and forth, their son placed gently over his shoulder.

His hair was heavily glowing, shades of glittering gold.

His tone, now blissful and cracking a little at points, he continued to sing and rested his head against the baby's and he began to stir a little.

He paused in shock for a moment but then determined to make this real, he finished the last line, "Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine...what once was mine."

Rapunzel covered her mouth with both hands and blinked away the tears which were so endlessly forming, and rolling down her face and hands, as the little baby coughed once...twice and then began to cry.

And it wasn't a painful, or sickly cry, but the kind one would expect from your first child.

Eugene shook, and then pulled their son from his shoulder and sat him up against his stomach, cradling him in his arms.

He turned slightly, still not having noticed Rapunzel in the room, and she took note that his face had more color in it now, from what she could tell in the dim moonlight from the window. His cheeks were just as tear stained, and he shushed the little prince, bouncing him gently and spoke to him softly,

"It's okay, it's all better now... Daddy's a magical flower freak, so no silly rats are gonna get you now..." Rapunzel nearly snorted, but decided to let him have his moment, and snuck away to the door again, pausing only to hear him say,

"Now go to sleep, you little Brussels Sprout..." Just like he always did.

She smiled and wiped her eyes as she closed the door. She would have a word to him about this 'flower boy' business later.


End file.
